Improved self-lubricating axle-box



S. S. PUTNAM.

Axle Lulerealtor.

No. 96,348. Patented Nov. 2, 1869.

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Letters Patent No. 96,348, dated November 2, 1869.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same To all whom Iit may conce-rn:

Be it known that I, SILAs S. PUTNAM, of Dorchester, in the county of Norfolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an -Improved Self-Lubricating Axle-Box for Oarriages, of which the following is a lull, clear, and exact description, .reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through an axle and the hub of a carriage-wheel, having my improved self-lubricating axle-box applied thereto.4

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of a hub provided with my improved axle-box. i

Figure 3 is a transverse section, on the line :t :c of fig l Patentof the United States were granted to me for an improved self-lubricating axle-box, which was provided with a chamber extending entirelyaround it, for containing fibrous material saturated with oil, which passed through slots or openings to the bearing-surface of the axle. My present invention, which is animprovement thereon, in its application to small hubs for light carriage-wheels, consists in an axle-box provided with one or more longitudinal chambers, the chamber or chambers extending only partially around the axle-box, and heilig packed with cotton-waste or other fibrous or porous material for receiving and retaining a supply oi'oil, which passes through one or more slots or openings to the bearing-surface of the axle, one or both ends-of the chamber or chambers being open, so as toallow the oilr to l'ubricate the inner end or collar ofthe axle, or the nut on its outer end, or both, and also permit thc ii'brous or 'porous mategiflato be inserted, and the oil to be poured in, with which it is saturated.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the manner'in which I'have carried it out.

In the drawngs- A is the axle-box, which is fitted into the hub B of the wheel, and has formed within it a longitudinal chamber, a, at the inner end of which is an opening, b, for the admission of a packing ot' cotton-waste, sponge, or other librous or porous material,which'is then saturated with oil poured in at l1, thus obviating the necessity of an opening through the side ofthe hub, and aifording convenient access to the chamber u.

c is a. longitudinal slot or opening, through which the oil is fed by the packing to the bearing-suriiice of the axle C.

' The collar D, at the inner cndof the bearing-snrfaceofthe axle, tits into a recess made to receive it, and is lubricated by the packing throughthe opening n the 20th day of November, A. D'. 1866, Letters' b, this opening being covered by the collar D, which thus serves to excludethe dust from the chamber a.

The nut E, which holds the wheel in place on the axle, fits into a recess made to receive it in the outer end of a screw-nut, G, as seen in fig 1. This screw- 'nut G serves to hold the axle-box A tightly in place within the hub, the chalnberal forming a projection on the outside ofthe axle-bar, (see iig. 3,) which tits into a groove made to receive it, thus preventing the axlebox from turning within the hub.

The end of the nut G is provided with a flange, d, and is finished with a projectiol'l, e, which forms the end of the hub, and serves to protect the nut which holds the wheel-in place upon the axle.

An axle-box, constructed as above described, can

lbe easily iitted within the hub, requiring no wedging,

as is frequently the case with those now in use.

lt will be seen, that when the chamber a is filled with a packing ot' cotton-waste or other suitable material, as above described, the revolution of the'wheel will cause the oil to -pass .through the opening c, ou to the bearing-surface of the axle, lubricating itthrough- |out its entire length, as required, and an axle-box thus constructed will run for a great length of time, without requiring the oil to be renewed, as the packing receives and retains a large supply of the lubricating-material.

If preferred, the chamber a may be. closed at its inner end, and provided with an opening, similar to b,

'at its front end, or an opening may be formed at each end ifdesircd, as the nut E, on theouter end ot' the axle, or the collar D, on its inner end, will hold the packing in place within the chamber a; 4and instead ot' one chamber only being formed within the axlebox, as above described, it may be provided with two or more chambers it' desired, without departing from the spirit ci' my invention.

The above-described axle-box, with a chamber extending only partially around it, requires less cutting away otA the hub than an axle-box having a chamber extending entirely around it, as described in my atbresaid patent ot' November 20, 1866, the latter being bett-$21,', adapted for the hubs of heavy wheels, while the former is more particularly adapted for the small hubs ot' light carriage-wheels.

Claim.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A chamber a, 'with its slots, in' combination with openings b, constructed substantially as described.

Witnesses: SILAS S. PUTNAM.

P. E. TescHEMAcHeR, W. J. CAMBRIDGE. 

